"You can still back out of the auction. They're still printing the programs," Luke said, handing Kurt another drink.

Kurt grunted, staring at the ice as it swirled around the glass. The hotel bar was dark and intimate. Off the beaten path, it was the kind of place Marcus loved. Right now, Kurt could appreciate how it fit his mood. "Why do you think I'd rather be at home right now?"

The lawyer-turned-judge grinned. "Because it's going to take a while for your sisters to quit milking this for all they're worth. You might as well get started on it as soon as possible."

"What are we getting started on?" Marcus asked as he slid into the booth. "Besides the drinks, which you've obviously got a handle on." He scooped Kurt's drink up off the table and took a sip.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "That was mine."

"You didn't want it anyway. Teddy and Brendan are going to be a few minutes late. Traffic is, as usual, terrible," Marcus said, checking his phone. "Gio sends his love, and says to drink a few shots for him."

"How did Cody get out of this?" Kurt asked, leaning back against the plush leather. He hadn't really wanted the drink, but he hadn't ruled out getting blackout drunk yet, either.

"Teddy said he had somewhere else to be," Luke said with a bewildered shrug. "Who knows? With either of them, come to think about it."

"I'll drink to that," Marcus said, raising Kurt's glass.

Kurt crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. He was going to pretend that he couldn't see the silent communication his frat brothers were having around him. He'd be willing to believe that Teddy was dragging his feet on purpose to give them time to talk. The slender architect preferred to avoid emotional conversations.

"So," Marcus said after a moment. "I hear you're in the doghouse."

Hunching deeper into the seat, Kurt glared at the glittering chandelier. "Evan broke up with me, if that's what you mean."

By the way his eyebrows almost met his hairline, that was news to Marcus. "Okay," he said slowly, handing Kurt's drink back. "You need that more than I do. What happened?"

Kurt laughed, sharp and bitter. "I fell in love with him."

“And ... this was a bad thing?" Marcus asked, squinting at him.

"Apparently." Fishing a piece of ice out of the glass, Kurt crunched it grumpily. "He told me he didn't want any commitments, and I screwed it up."

He sighed. "Not that I blame him. My family, we're just not meant for that kind of thing."

This time it was Luke who jumped into the awkward silence. "Your sisters are all married."

"And look how happy they are," he muttered, raising his glass in a toast.

Marcus caught his hand, taking the drink away. "Not everyone who gets married is miserable. It sounds like you both need to be reminded of that."

"I know that," Kurt said, digging out his phone to check the hourly report. It was a comforting habit, and he stared at the two smallest funds, the ones he'd put all his waking hours into the last few weeks.

He’d hoped the exhaustion would help him get some sleep, but he kept falling into bed at odd hours of the day, staring at the ceiling, and wondering what Evan was doing. Checking on his stocks hurt less.

"I didn't say every marriage. Just my family." Unable to stand looking at it anymore, he turned his phone off and stuck it in his pocket.

Luke cleared his throat, and he and Marcus held an argument composed mostly of eyebrows where they thought Kurt couldn't see.

"You know," Marcus said, downing the last of Kurt's drink like a man going to his execution, "marriages don't just happen."

"Oh, God," Kurt said, staring at him in dismay. "Don't. Please don't."

Cheeks flushed bright red, Marcus curled in on himself. "I'm just saying, it takes work," he said determinedly. "You have to make the effort, too."

"We are not having this conversation. This is like you trying to tell me about the birds and the bees. You are not that much older than I am," Kurt said, his hands covering his ears.

He didn’t need to hear about all the ways that he had fucked up. Not from a man with a perfect marriage.

Marcus cast his eyes at the ceiling. "Why do I bother?"

"Because you love us, even though we're crazy," Luke said, laughing. He could afford to laugh; he'd been married almost the longest of all of them. Only Brendan had been married longer, and he didn't count, because he'd married his high school sweetheart.

"It's more that I promised Gio," Marcus said. "Those romance novels he pretends he doesn't read have made him think he's an expert." He shook his head, a besotted smile twisting his lips.

Kurt’s heart twisted in his chest. That was it. Everything he wanted distilled into one look.

Luke laughed harder, his eyes watering. "I'm going to get some more drinks," he said, scooting out of the booth with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Probably should have waited until Teddy got here to bring up the marriage thing," Kurt said, staring after him. "It bothers him." Luke's family history was complicated, and he hadn't been a big fan of marriage, either. Until he'd met Jay, anyway.

Marcus shrugged. "He's a big boy, and I did tell him I was going to talk to you. How are you, really?"

"Debating getting blackout drunk," Kurt said. "Really."

"That's one solution," Marcus said, serene and non-judgmental as always. "You could talk about it. That might help, too."

"What is there to talk about? I told him I loved him, spent all night in my office, and snapped at him the next morning. No wonder he ran."

Kurt fished another ice cube out of his empty glass just for something do. The crunch was satisfying against his teeth, even though the cold made them ache.

He wouldn’t have stayed if the situation was reversed, he told himself. The lie chafed, but he ignored it.

Marcus leaned against him, just enough taller that their elbows didn't knock together. "I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"I knew it wouldn't," he said, but it was cold comfort. "I don't have time for that kind of thing if I'm going to keep all of you in sneakers and cookie dough. You're up eight percent this year," he added, knocking his dark hair against Marcus' dirty blond.

Marcus nodded, but seemed to take a moment to chew on his words. Across the restaurant, Luke was standing at the bar, two men in glasses laughing with him. Teddy and Brendan couldn't be more different, but he'd recognize them anywhere.

Teddy's pale eyes caught his across the room, the tall, thin redhead staring with disturbing intensity.

"You know," Marcus said, scooting toward the edge of the booth, "if it makes a difference to you at all, I'd rather have two hours with Gio than a two percent increase in my income."

Kurt tore his eyes away from Teddy's laser-like gaze to stare at Marcus. "What?"

"Kurt, I have money." Marcus shrugged, his eyes softening. "You've taken care of us for years. What is that ten percent increase going to do this year that can't wait until next March, when we would have hit the benchmark anyway?"

"June," Kurt said. "I'm six months ahead." He was proud of that, but not as proud as he might once have been. Money was easy, too easy anymore. It didn’t fulfill him like it once had.

Marcus pursed his lips. "Normally, I would be thrilled for you," he said, clasping Kurt on the arm with firm intent. "Because normal people get ahead so that they can take time off.

“You? You're running a race that never ends. Every time you win, you move the line."

"That's how you make a fortune," Kurt protested.

"You have a fortune," Marcus said, poking him in the chest. "You have two fortunes, or three, depending on what measurement we're using. You have more money than you could ever use, even if you never earned another drop of interest."

He shook his head. "So do the rest of us." Gesturing wildly with his free hand, he almost sent the empty cup flying. "Do you know what the most expensive thing I've bought this year was?"

"A car?" Kurt guessed. The hair on his arms was standing on end, and there was a band of steel around his chest. He glanced back at the bar, fighting the urge to run for it.

"The tickets for this trip," he said. "Do you know how many times I would have to buy those same first-class tickets before I even had to think about budgeting my money?"

"Don't lie," Kurt said, Marcus' hand sitting heavily on his shoulder. "You budget everything down to the penny, Mr. Ace Accountant."

Marcus ignored him. "Four hundred twenty-six times. I could make this trip every month for the next forty years and still be fine." He paused. "Actually, Gio would kill me after the third trip, but you know what I mean."

Teddy was still staring at him, and Kurt tried to project Save me with his eyes. "So what are you saying?" he asked, his heart pounding.

"I'm saying, some things are worth more than money." Marcus shook him gently until Kurt met his eyes again. "Even if you never made another penny, if you were happy, I wouldn't care."

Kurt swallowed hard, his throat aching. "You're just saying that because you have someone to spend your time with," he said.

Marcus thumped him gently with one finger. "So do you."

"I don't, though," Kurt said, his eyes burning. "Not anymore."

He pulled out of Marcus' hold and scooted the long way around the booth like the devil himself was after him.